IWU takes out Taylor

Kyle Keck | Echo

The Taylor women's basketball team fell to No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan 65-47 in Wednesday night's Grant County rivalry game at Odle Arena.

From the tip, the Trojans' energy and defensive pressure caused havoc for the Wildcats, which led to an early 9-9 score. However, Taylor couldn't keep up with Indiana Wesleyan's 15-0 run in the first half. The Wildcats would not be tamed.

Although Taylor's first half troubles resulted in a 32-14 halftime score, the Trojans kept up the fight with a run of their own to start the second half. Freshman Josie Cobb sparked a 5-0 run, followed by six consecutive points from junior Jackie Osenbaugh, who put together her third straight double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two assists to lead Taylor.

While the second half scoring spurt gave Taylor a boost, Indiana Wesleyan weathered the storm and continued to find scores down low for 44 of its 65 points.

"In the second half, we did better pushing the ball down the court," Osenbaugh said. "We must continue to get defensive stops, and as a team, we really need to take better care of the ball. Our coaches prepare us well, but sometimes we need to execute better and follow their game plan."

Taking care of the ball proved a problem for Taylor with 20 total turnovers. Indiana Wesleyan caused many of Taylor's turnovers in an effort to keep the ball out of the post. This forced Taylor into an offensive funk, and the Trojans finished the night with a 35.8 shooting percentage.

"A lot of our action on offense usually comes from the getting the ball into our post," Cobb said. "The times we were able to get it inside, IWU had a double or triple team ready, which made it difficult to square up to the basket or to kick it out. It was tough for us to execute some of our half court sets and to establish a good flow."

Cobb was the only other Trojan to reach double figures in scoring, sinking 3 of 7 three-pointers en route to 11 points.

Photograph by Josh Adams